Imagine facing a medical emergency with no mobile signal and no way to call for help. For many people in remote parts of Papua New Guinea, this is a frightening reality…
Story by Kathy Burrows
In a world of smartphones, high-frequency (HF) radios may seem outdated – yet for hundreds of isolated communities they are still a vital lifeline. MAF Technologies exists to ensure people in these areas can connect to external help when there is no other way.
“Through MAF Technologies’ HF radio communication so many lives are saved,” said Justina Martin, a radio operator for MAF Technologies in Goroka, Papua New Guinea (PNG).
“We can call the doctors, and they can come on the radio to give the necessary advice to the sick patient in the bush. I can also call the plane to come and airlift the sick patient to hospital for further treatment.”
Mougulu is a small community situated in the Western Province of PNG. It has no road link to the outside world and is just one of many similarly cut-off locations across the nation where MAF Technologies has installed HF radio. For these places, other communication options are unreliable or non-existent.
Having volunteered at Mougulu for years, Sally Lloyd has experienced the value of HF radio firsthand.
“If you are just relying on the mobile phone, invariably the network will go down right when you're trying to evacuate a patient who's going to die, unless you get a plane in or something,” she said.
HF radio systems are the ideal solution because they can provide long-distance communication without the need for phone signal.
“Papua New Guinea is a developing country,” said senior technician for MAF Technologies, Jacob Dinoke.
“80% of the places have no access to communication. Still, there are places that need radio.”
HF radios are simple, reliable and easy to use. They are also very cost-effective which is vital for remote communities who cannot afford costly mobile subscriptions.
Pastor James Piwa of the Christian Brethren Church at Auwi, Hela Province, spoke of how a new HF radio would support many services in his village and region.
“Radio provides services to all health centres, schools, mission stations, and all of our ministry arms,” he said.
“We believe it will provide a service to each of our communities and clans, to those other faraway districts – for those times when their roads are cut off. Now MAF will help them too, and we say thank you that we’ve received this radio.”
Some PNG villagers rely on distant cell phone towers, having to hike up a nearby mountain to get enough ‘bars’ of reception.
But in an emergency, there really is no replacement for a HF radio. There is no time to walk up a mountain range and find signal to call for help.
In 1997, the book Lifelines documented the history of Christian Radio Missionary Fellowship – what is now MAF Technologies. Even at this time of the internet’s infancy, many wondered if HF radio was obsolete, and asked manager James Mollenhauer, ‘Isn't radio out of date?’
“No way!” he replied. “We find people are quite happy to call for help when they need it. Technology has to be simple and not expensive.”
What was still relevant then is still just as relevant today.
“I still believe in HF radio. Many suppose it to be outdated, but it saves many lives.”
- Many communities in Papua New Guinea still do not have reliable communications with the outside world
- Even those communities with mobile phone signal can lose their telephone services for weeks at a time, putting vulnerable people at risk, such as expectant mothers with labour complications
- MAF Technologies is still working to combat isolation, currently installing new HF radios in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville
- HF radio is appropriate technology – it is sustained by solar power and allows communities with little cash to make calls free of charge, once the unit is set up
- You can support isolated people by donating towards the cost of HF radio installations for communities in need